Why can't we smoke wherever and when we need to at school?

Why can't we smoke wherever and when we need to at school?

While scanning through the first pages of the Leo Hayes High School agenda, we stumble across the smoking regulations for our school. "Leo Hayes High School is a smoke-free environment", is printed, in bold lettering, in efforts to get the message across. This means that smoking will not be permitted at any place or time on school property, or in school consequences will be assigned.

Approximately one in five Canadian teens currently smoke cigarettes. One of the major contributing factors of teens starting to smoke is because of peer pressure. Today, an alarming 45 000 Canadian people die each year due to tobacco related deaths. Smoking has many hazardous effects on your health, mainly affecting your lungs. By smoking cigarettes each day, you damage your lungs' natural cleaning system and trap cancer causing chemicals in your lungs.

Smoking may not be the best choice you've ever made, but you do have the right to your own body and how you wish to express yourself. The rules about smoking at school are not judgmental, but instead trying to promote your good health. If we were allowed to smoke on school property it would seem like nobody cared about a student's health, and it would be simply promoting this cancer causing addiction. You have to look at this situation in a positive way, and think about the fact that your school cares about you and wants you to lead a long and happy life.

-Love Mamma Leo :)